The Basketball Hall of Fame altered its eligibility rules last year – allowing players to be nominated four, rather than five, years after their last game.

But Tracy McGrady’s last NBA game came just three years ago. He signed with the Spurs on the final day of the 2012-13 regular season, didn’t play in the finale, but played spot minutes in San Antonio’s Finals run.

His last regular-season game was four years ago, though. Apparently, that’s good enough for the Hall.

McGrady joins Ben Wallace and Muggsy Bogues as first-time nominees for the Basketball Hall of Fame.

By nominating McGrady this year, the Hall essentially ruled his time with the Spurs didn’t count. Why are those 31 playoff minutes significant? That was the only time McGrady won a playoff series. An excellent regular-season player, that complete lack of postseason success will hinder his candidacy. When teams clamped down, McGrady had no answer.

I’d also lean toward inducting Wallace, a four-time Defensive Player of the Year. His peak is undervalued. At his best, he was the NBA’s third-best player behind Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett. (Shaquille O’Neal was between stretches of motivation, and Kobe Bryant hadn’t yet learned how to lead a team.) Though 16 NBA seasons is a nice run, too many of those after his prime were underwhelming.

Bogues? A 5-foot-3 player flourishing in the NBA is a tremendous accomplishment. But there’s a reason he’s getting his first nomination 15 years after retirement. He’s not close to Hall-of-Fame caliber.

What stands out to me after a quick read of this article is that Tim Hardaway and Kevin Johnson aren't already in the HOF. I think both were among the best players for at least five seasons in their careers and that is better than some names of seen mentioned in the HOF.